Dreaming in Bhalasaam
by Deathofme
Summary: For Sanctuary Bingo. Post "The Five". After his near fatal encounter with Druitt, Nikola escapes to Bhalasaam afraid he will die. Slipping between waking and dreaming, he has a conversation with someone he never expected to see in Limbo.


**A/N **For Sanctuary Bingo, prompt: The Five (episode). Rating is for some blood (John _did_ punch a hole through him).**  
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><p><strong>Dreaming in Bhalasaam<br>**

A gurgle rose in Nikola's throat as he stared down at the crater left in his mid-section. He felt like he was underwater as he fell to his knees, his fledglings similarly panicked and moaning as they shared the sudden burst of pain.

Blackness consumed his vision and he fell to the floor.

When he next woke he was tucked away in a corner of the catacombs. The fledglings must have realized their lives were linked to his, and out of their mutual preservation had hidden him out of view from the Cabal. He chanced a glimpse down at his mid-section and quickly looked back up again.

Dizzy, lightheaded with his clothes soaked through, he realized he needed blood and soon. He grabbed the fledgling closest to him, struggling not to pass out from the effort, and sank his teeth into its neck. It made no effort to fight him, its only concession was to weakly scrabble at his arm when the last of its blood was drained away.

It did enough to stop the dizzy spell, and he held onto a column and hauled himself to his feet. His eyes were black, his fangs protruding and he lost sense of what he was. He grabbed the next fledgling and slipped into a sort of trance, unaware of his surroundings or what he was doing until he stood panting and saw all three of their savaged corpses at his feet. He was immediately back to human form, shaking and sickened by what he saw.

The gaping hole in his torso was beginning to close up, but it was still a long way from healing. Nikola knew he couldn't stay here, and he could only think of one place where he felt safe enough to lay low and lick his wounds.

Bhalasaam. Resting place of his ancestors.

He looked down at his clothing, grabbed the jacket from one of the fledglings and zipped it up. It was a pity having to match the shabby thing with his Italian suit (when in Rome), but it was better to have a clash in style then show up at his hotel with a hole through his chest.

Nikola managed to recruit a driver and then a plane to India that night. He slept all through the flight, shivering and sweating from the effort of having to act normally in front of other people. The pain was nauseating, and the healing was slow.

When the flight attendant came out to offer him a blanket he stared lingeringly at his neck, but forced himself to politely refuse her. She was innocent. She was human. He may have come close to breaking his solemn vow never to feed on people, but he'd be damned if he proved Helen's suspicions right that he was a monster.

Through the forest the journey was slow. He stopped frequently, too weak even to hunt, but somehow finally made it to the lost city.

Inside Bhalasaam it was cold and dry. He passed out on the cold stone and lay there for some time.

He wasn't sure what compelled him to, but he didn't expect to wake up again.

Nikola gingerly felt the wound. It was still knitting back together, but oh so slowly. He despaired. How was his body supposed to repair damaged vital organs, tissue and skin? The wound was still open and bleeding sluggishly. He could feed all he liked but it would just leak out of him again.

Damn Druitt … damn him…

The original source blood was here. If only he could find it, it would ensure his recovery. He was beginning to fear that without its help, he might not make it out of this.

He walked slowly through the underground city, hand pressed against the stone walls and feeling the runes engraved onto the surface. The language of his ancestors. The only record he had left of the legacy he inherited. It comforted him in a way, as it felt as if his ancestors were speaking to him, telling him not to give up. The cool embrace of the stone was like their arms folding around him, claiming him as their child.

He didn't want to end up a relic in an abandoned city like them just yet.

He made it to the stone dais with the five keyholes and fought down a bitter taste in his mouth. Where were the Five now? Broken and scattered, all off chasing their own lofty pursuits.

He hadn't managed to figure out how to open the dais, he had tried a number of combinations. He had even tried Helen's birthday, but the secrets remained locked to him. He tried it once more, but to no avail.

Fine, he had already found the location for his key and Helen's. The thought of the tunnel with its electrical source grounded in the earth filled him with dread, so he went in search of Helen's key instead. The glass eye denied him and he pleaded with it half-heartedly. It took a superhuman effort not to smash it, and he punched the wall instead, yelling in pain.

Hopelessness washed over him. If he couldn't obtain all of their keys, he wouldn't be able to find the source blood. Nikola had lived for almost a century thinking he would never die, but he doubted his conviction now.

His key was not so far away. Stumbling, he saw the entrance to his tunnel, the key a tantalizing walk away. He looked at the tunnel, leaning against the entrance. He would die trying to get the key. He would die either way without the source blood.

Steeling himself, he took a step forward. The tunnel spat alive with volts and surges of electricity. His hair stood on end and all the nerves running through him screamed.

He forced himself to take another step, fighting the black spots in his vision. He took another, and then fell, lying helpless in the tunnel as his body was ravaged with electrical current.

His heart stopped. Then it was revived. It stopped, and was revived again.

Nikola slipped into unconsciousness in a state between living and dying.

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><p>When Nikola opened his eyes, it was to find himself in a white room he didn't recognize.<p>

"You look better clean-shaven."

Nikola blinked, stunned. "This is a dream, right?"

"Perhaps. If so, then I'm flattered you're dreaming of me."

Nikola didn't know the reason why, especially if this was a product of his imagination, but Gregory Magnus was sitting beside him. The man who back at Oxford had terrorized him and done his best to chase him away from Helen, now sympathetically patted his hand. "I take it you weren't expecting me."

"If this is my death then I was hoping for a bevy of buxom, naked women to pour my wine."

Gregory laughed, and then slapped him on the back of the head. "Even upon death one shouldn't neglect behaving like a gentleman." He considered Nikola and with a measure of regret said, "You won't be able to access the source blood alone, old boy. Whatever put the idea in your head to try?"

Nikola shrugged, tiredly rubbing his face and trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. "I thought it would be better to try and fail, than do nothing at all."

Gregory looked thoughtfully at him. "I always had a lot of respect for you as a scientist, Tesla. But I think this is the first time I've truly respected you as a man."

"How have I not been man enough before this?"

Gregory snorted, then turned to look at him with a stern eye. "Back at Oxford you were so consumed with jealousy for Watson, and especially Druitt. Even Griffin to some degree. They were more popular, they threatened to outstrip you intellectually, they threatened your friendship with Helen—"

Nikola flushed, and Gregory arched an eyebrow. "Oh come now, it was obvious to everyone. But you never did anything about it – you goaded and provoked John from the sidelines until he beat you over the backside to shut you up. You may have thought you proved yourself more as the man for not succumbing to such brutish behaviour, but you should have risen above instigating him. Or met him head on."

Nikola buried his face in his hands and moaned, "Even in death I can't escape your lectures."

Gregory clapped a hand to his shoulder. "No, no. Come now, old boy, I'm just trying to talk to you. Why did you decide to come here of all places?"

"I actually wasn't interested in the source blood when I first came here. I just wanted to learn more about the old vampires."

"You make it sound like a passing interest," Gregory chuckled, "But you've been chasing their secrets for over sixty years. Why is it so important to you?"

"Because it's all I have," Nikola snarled, his fingers flexing angrily. "I was the only one who _changed_ so completely. Druitt became … what he is, but I was still the one they viewed as a monster. I wanted to know if that was really what I'd become, and I learned that they were all wrong. But she doesn't see that. I have Druitt's fist growing out of my chest because they see me as a threat, a murderous creature."

Gregory considered his words carefully, and then frowned. "Now, young man, would you really have harmed Helen down in the catacombs?"

Nikola sighed wearily and whispered, "OF course not. I may have gotten carried away … but I just wanted to share with her what I had found, essentially."

"You know … amongst friends, an apology goes a long way."

Nikola laughed bitterly. "It's too late now."

Gregory stood up and pulled Nikola to his feet. "Do you really think electricity will kill you, old boy?"

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><p>When Nikola awoke he was lying outside the tunnel entrance. He wasn't sure how he got there, but his clothes were smoking lightly. He looked down at the wound and the edges had cauterized. Still unpleasant to experience and look at, he struggled to his feet.<p>

The key lay at the end of the tunnel, and somehow he knew that if he wanted to he could make it through this time.

He turned on his heel and walked away, thinking to find some cool, dark place where he could lie down and sleep. He'd leave the key for another day when the Five could be reunited, work together and he could help them.

FIN


End file.
